grabbed by the BuLLS

"Sir, you have a bad smile" Well, that's settled then, the aforementioned judgement coming down as a guillotine on any hopes I might've harbored of dazzling my way into people's hearts via Close Up commercials. The veracity of the statement really cannot be questioned considering it came from that most unquestionable of authorities, the photographer at the local studio. No, I wasn't getting my portfolio done, wouldn't want the unsuspecting readers of this post to lose their lives because of shortness of breath caused by uncontrolled laughter and injuries sustained by crashing into furniture and other more immovable objects while rolling around on the floor, all in the process of considering the prospect of me in a portfolio.

This was the a passport job, with some, hold your breath, ID and stamp-sized photos thrown in. Settling onto the rather uncomfortable wooden plank, the chap straightened my tie, made micro adjustments to the angle of my neck and head as if calibrating a laser-guided missile, stepped back, asked for that smile and about a million flashbulbs went off. He then looked into the lcd screen of his digital SLR and all his bonhomie vanished just like all his hopes of winning the IPA seemed to have. I, therefore, don't blame him for glaring at me while saying the above words. Quick reload and click so as not to prolong the farce and we were done.

In other news, made my first foray into the stock market and then watched with some incredulity as the biggest ever intra-day drop in history occurred. It doesn't take too many divination skills to figure out that wasn't a good omen :) Packing seems to be high on the agenda these days and it gets tougher to procrastinate when you're being persistently asked whether I intend to take that orange polka-dotted shirt or the sequin trousers...ok, maybe i exaggerate. Ok, granted that all the actual fetching and laundering and folding and laying in the suitcase is being taken care of by mom, but leaning back and pointing at different articles can also be rather enervating. Packing...the one time when my meager possessions seem to suddenly turn so frikkin' voluminous!

Last potential post from 'da Bomb' city for a while, have heard rumors that there are internet hubs in the nethers outside Pune, unsubstantiated albeit. Will know soon enough...